Title: Tomorrow Never Comes

Disclaimer: Slash. Violence. Language. Angst.

POV: Delko

Chapter Fourteen: Playing the Deck

The lab is quiet. This puts me at ease. Day shift is gone and not all of night shift is in. This will go well. Maybe. I remember returning to work after lunch with Calleigh. The day passed slowly, without incident. All I did was processes evidence. For once, there is a low crime rate in Miami. Guess it's just one of those months. Even the criminals like to take a vacation; as absurd as that seems.

I look to the picture in my hand. Happier times. I want to smile. Really, I do. Half-heartedly I tear the photo in half. The memory is gone. I feel the tears clouding my eyes. I blink them back. I left work early, since it was a slow day. I was in a happy mood. Calleigh swore to keep my secret and having finally told someone, the weight was gone. But my happiness was short lived. When I returned home I find that Timmy had left. He wasn't there and some of his things were missing. I tried for hours to call him. He never answered. He still wouldn't. My guess, he just left me. I tore the place apart in rage. I wanted to know why he left. What had I done that was so bad? It was than that I came across the stash of letters. Those damn threatening notes. Some many of them. All of which he'd hidden from me.

It didn't take me long to figure out who sent them. I knew the handwriting. It had become increasingly familiar in the last few weeks. All too familiar. Now here I am, back at the lab. Calleigh has gone and so has Alexx. Last I saw Hagen he was making his way to his car. The only person I can't find is Horatio. But that doesn't matter. Not now. Not when I have a task at hand.

The person I'm waiting for walks by. He doesn't see me. That's a good thing. I knew the best location to hid away from him. I know this lab like the back of my hand. I give the hallway a check. There isn't another sole in sight. Good. Briskly, yet slowly, I follow him. Making sure to stay as quiet as possible. I want to surprise him. It'll be more fun for me.

I dart into the bathroom doorway as he bends over to tie his shoe. What a fool, I smirk. He can't even keep his shoes tied. How did thing get so far than? How? I watch as he turns into the locker room. A great place for the deck of cards to play out. At least, I think it is. He won't be thinking anything is great in a few more minutes.

Outside the door I pause. Despite my calm mind my heart is racing a mile a minute. I close my eyes for a brief moment, trying to ease its pace. I feel the metal, cool in my hand. I don't bother to check the chamber, I know it's full. My gun is always loaded. That's a little something Horatio instilled into me. Always have a loaded weapon. You never know when you're going to need it. How right you are, H, how right you are.

Finally, steeling my spine I enter the room. He's sitting on the bench, tying his shoes. For some reason he came here to replace his sneakers with a different pair of sneakers. He is anal. I know he is. I know the sneakers too. He wears them inside the lab. Says that they are better than wearing one pair of shoes and tracking dirt all over the place. Dirt that could contaminate evidence. I move farther into the room. As the door closes behind me he looks to me.

It takes a split-second for his mind to register who I am. "What are you doing here?" He snaps.

"Came to see you," I reply shortly.

"Get lost, trash." He resumes tying his shoes. My anger is stoked by his ignorance. I point my gun at him. Leveling it with the back of his neck.

"I'm not done with you," I remark.

He looks to me again. His eyes grow large as he sees the shiny metal. "What the…"

"Shut up!" I hiss. "You don't get to talk. You've done enough talking."

"Come on, man, you don't have the balls to pull that trigger." Even though all the color has drained from his face, he still chooses to be cocky. That's his choice than. The cards are on the table. It's time to play the hand.

I take a step closer. "I don't?" Adrenaline is coursing through my veins. Now my heart beats fast in sport, not by nervousness.

He smiles. "Go ahead. Dare you to do it." The smile on his face doesn't fool me. I know human behavior. I can read the fear in his eyes all too clearly. This is what I want. This is what I came here for.

My mind races with visions. I see the blood he's caused to flow. The tears that came because of him. I see it all. I feel it all. Every single time he hit me. Every word meant to make me feel less like a human. Those were his cards. He played them. Now it was my turn. Now I'd show him how to win.

"Enjoy your hell," I say in a voice I don't even recognize as my own anymore.

He smiles again, this time calling my bluff. What a stupid mistake made by a stupid man. Someone should show him how to work on his poker face. Too bad they'll never have the chance to.

I hold my breath. My finger squeezes. The room fills with the sound of the gun roaring in anger. The flash blinds me. My world as I know, ends. Not much of an ending though, so I have no reason to live.

Horatio is looking at me from across his desk. His eyes are swimming in emotions. He doesn't know if he should be mad, upset, or just plain pissed off. Whatever he decides, I hope he does it soon. I want to leave. I don't want to be here anymore. All I can smell is the gun powder. All I can hear is the gun going off. Let me out. Please let me go home to my bed.

He shakes his head. "I really don't know where to begin, Delko. I never expected anything like this to happen. Never."

"I did what I did, H. There's no taking it back."

He nods in agreement. A flash of pain crosses his face. "At least things are not as bad as they could have been. There's that chance that you would have hit him, instead of missing him. If you had hit him, you probably would have killed him."

I have nothing to say to that. I know that I miss him. Duh, I have eyes. It was a last minute conscious decision. If I killed him, my life would have been over. I would lose my job. My friends. Respect. My family would never talk to me again. But most of all, I would lose myself.

"There's something I need to know, Delko. Why?"

The question just hangs in the air. How do I answer it? He came to my rescue. Little did I know, he was still at work. He heard the shot and being a good lieutenant, came to investigate. He found me, with my gun, and the bastard cowering in the corner. At least I showed him. He won't be bothering me anymore.

"He fucked up, Horatio. There's nothing more to say," I remark.

He shakes his head. "Damn it, Delko. Now is not the time to be lying to me. Your ass is on the line. Tell me what the really motivate was."

I should have known that I couldn't lie to him. No one can lie to him. "Stress," I mutter.

His brow creases. "From over work?"

My anger is coming back. What a stupid answer from a smart man. "No, not work. You just don't see it, Horatio. You don't." I lean forward in the chair. "He sent threatening letters to Speed. He thought it was a joke. A sick fucking joke. What kind of twisted mind comes up with that?" I don't give him a chance to answer my question. "The same twisted fuck who's willing to go out of his way and take advantage of another person. He's the one that's been causing my bruises, Horatio. Not Speed. I wish I had killed him. He doesn't deserve to be alive." I whisper the last sentence.

Horatio just looks at me. His blues eyes taking on a cloudy hue. "I'm sorry, Delko. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have protected you and Speed more. I should have. But I failed-"

I cut him off before he can go on. "We all fail. It's the way of life."